Aviation

Recent Articles

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  09.06.2023

  United Kingdom

  Acceleration clause upheld in aircraft lease

  A recent judgment of Charles Hollander KC gives comfort to lessors who seek to rely upon acceleration provisions in their leases following an event of default. The case of VS MSN 36118 CAV Designated Activity Company v SpiceJet Limited [2023] EWHC 1146 (Comm) examined whether a clause providing for the payment of future rent following an event of default was sufficiently clear so as to be binding upon the lessee, or whether it was a penalty clause. While noting that the wording of the clause in this particular case was unsatisfactory, the Judge was able to interpret the relevant provision such...

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  06.06.2023

  Europe

  The European Commission investigates the project of acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Airlines

  FR

  Korean Airlines notified the European Commission of its proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines on 13 January 2023. On 17 February 2023, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition to assess whether it could restrict competition on the markets of passenger and cargo air transport services between the EEA and South Korea. On 17 May 2023, the Commission issued a Statement of Objections to Korean Air.Korean Air has made a number of notifications to several national competition authorities responsible for merger control. Eleven countries (China, Australia, Malaysia,...

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  01.06.2023

  Europe

  State aid: following appeals by Ryanair, the General Court of the EU annuls the Commission's decisions approving aid for SAS, Deutsche Lufthansa and Italian airlines

  FR

  On 11 May 2023, the General Court of the EU cancelled two European Commission decisions authorizing State aid in the form of capital injections for the airlines SAS and Deutsche Lufthansa, in particular because there was no mechanism for increasing the remuneration of the Swedish and German States' shareholdings and because of the modalities of the exit of the State. On 24 May 2023, the General Court of the EU annulled the Commission's decision of 22 December 2020 authorizing a compensation scheme for airlines holding a licence given by the Italian authorities due to a failure to state reasons....

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  13.04.2023

  EU

  State aid: Italian EUR 400 million loan for Alitalia qualified by the European Commission as illegal aid

  FR

  On 27 March 2023, the European Commission concluded that an Italian loan of EUR 400 million granted in 2019 in favour of Alitalia constituted illegal and incompatible aid that has to be reimbursed. Alitalia has benefitted from numerous public support measures over the years. The airline found itself in a financial pickle and was declared bankrupt in May 2017. To ensure the continuity of its operations, the Italian State provided the airline with two loans, one of EUR 900 million granted in 2017 and the second of EUR 400 million in 2019.In 2018, the European Commission opened an investigation and...

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  10.03.2023

  Europe

  State aid: the General Court of the EU annuls the decision of the European Commission in the Timișoara/Wizz Air case

  FR

  On 8 February 2023, the General Court of the EU annulled the European Commission decision that had concluded to the absence of  aid granted by Timișoara Airport in favour of Wizz Air following an annulment action by Carpatair. By this decision, the Commission had also authorized an investment aid for the airport. This aid was not challenged.  The decision of the European CommissionOn 14 May 2011, the European Commission launched an investigation into contracts between Timișoara Airport and Wizz Air following a complaint from Carpatair. This investigation was then extended to...

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  29.07.2022

  EU

  Airline slots: The European Commission presents to the Council and the EU Parliament a proposal to allow a more flexible exceptions regime under the use-it-or-lose-it rule

  FR

  On 12 July 2022, the European Commission issued a proposal for a regulation submitted for approval to the Council and the EU Parliament to allow the airline slot regime to respond in a more flexible manner in the future. It aims at making the air traffic market more resilient to large-scale disruptions, such as the COVID-19 crisis or the war in Ukraine. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air traffic suffered an unprecedented decline in passenger demand in 2020 and at the beginning of 2021 (April 2020: 89% decrease compared with the same period in 2019). Although passenger demand declined in 2020 and...

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